H-E-B asking a lot for store. Is it worth it?

Is H-E-B asking for too much in exchange for the downtown store Mayor Julián Castro, and the few downtown residents, so desperately want?

H-E-B has said the store is contingent upon the $1 million in taxpayer money (most of which is from the hotel occupancy tax, but it’s your money) and the closing of a block of South Main Avenue.

Other incentives, like the ones being dolled out for downtown housing, go toward shifting downtown’s focus from the tourist to the local. They contribute to creating a downtown all San Antonians can enjoy.

Yet, I don’t see people from other parts of town driving downtown to shop at the downtown H-E-B — they already have grocery stores in their neighborhoods.

H-E-B has emerged as the frontrunner for the $1 million subsidy the city is offering for a downtown grocery store. But it’s not a done deal, the Express-News reported this week. Negotiations between the city and H-E-B likely will begin soon. And the City Council could vote on a final proposal by October or early November.

Here’s a breakdown of the pros and cons:

What taxpayers get

H-E-B says it will build a $3.75 million store, which includes a fueling station, between 6,000 and 8,000 square feet at East César E. Chávez Boulevard and South Flores Street. Basic items include “produce, meats, beer and wine, deli, frozen foods and bread,” according to the Express-News story.

Prepared foods will come from Central Market. And the store is being designed by Lake|Flato, the prominent local architecture firm.

It would open in about a year after council approval, which means downtowners could finally see a store as soon as October 2014.

Depending on how negotiations go between the H-E-B and the city, the store could be multiple stories tall.

The store would service downtowners, residents of the King William and Lavaca neighborhoods, and possibly even beyond to residents farther south, and those living in the near West and East Sides.

What H-E-B gets

H-E-B gets $1 million. (It’s still a mystery what a multibillion dollar company like this needs with a $1 million.) It also would be eligible for city and SAWS fee waivers.

Perhaps more valuable than those incentives is the closing of South Main Avenue from Chavez Boulevard to East Arsenal Street. The permanent street closure would allow H-E-B to connect its current headquarters at the former United States Arsenal with property it owns across Main. The growth west of the arsenal would include the store and also a culinary school on Flores Street. It also could close access to the Commander’s House, a city-owned senior citizens center.

Is it worth it?

H-E-B says the store won’t make any money for five years, implying that the whole effort is philanthropic. But let’s look at another way: Is assisting in the expansion of H-E-B a bad thing considering it’s headquartered just south of downtown and is such a charitable corporate citizen?

On the other hand, downtown housing growth is latent. A 350-unit apartment complex at the Univision riverfront site is located down Chavez from where H-E-B wants to build the store. A couple thousand new residential units are envisioned for HemisFair Park’s redevelopment, also down Chavez.

Is a downtown store inevitable? Does the city have to give so much to get something that may come naturally five years or so from now?

The $1 million doesn’t bother me so much as the closing of South Main Avenue.

But I need more details on the store before taking sides. If the H-E-B is Central Market-like in its prices, then the city is getting ripped off. But if it’s done at a price scale like most H-E-B’s, then the package might seem more worth it.

What are the other elements of the store? Farmers market? Cooking demos? Good beer selection (priorities, people)? Live music (it’s not so crazy)?